Preview: Fiorentina vs. Dynamo Kiev - prediction, team news, lineups

Fiorentina are in free fall ahead of Thursday’s Conference League matchday five contest against Dynamo Kiev at Stadio Artemio Franchi.

The Viola have lost consecutive games in the competition, having won two to start the league phase, and they enter the penultimate fixture in 17th place, 10 spots above their visitors, who are facing elimination.

Match preview

Fiorentina supporters could be forgiven for thinking an upswing was in the offing when the club let go of the returning Stefano Pioli and appointed Paolo Vanoli.

Instead of a turnaround in results, more disappointment has followed, with the Violets winless under their new head coach after five games.

Having played out two draws against Genoa and Juventus to start Vanoli’s tenure, the Viola have since slipped back into old habits, suffering three straight defeats, including a 1-0 loss to AEK Athens in the fourth round of games before another club’s visit to Florence.

The outcome of results domestically and in Europe leaves the Tuscany outfit at the bottom of the Serie A table and 17th in the Conference League, fighting for their lives domestically and possibly slipping out of the playoff positions on the continent.

Despite sitting joint top of the third-tier European club competition after the opening two matchdays, the Violets could now drop out of participation altogether at the end of the six-match league phase.

This week's visitors to Florence, like their hosts, have had a disappointing European campaign, with three defeats and one win in the first four matchdays.

The last of those came against Omonia in the previous round, a 2-0 defeat that cost Oleksandr Shovkovskyi his job in Kiev.

Ihor Kostiuk has since been appointed for the Blue and Whites, although the Ukrainian giants did not record their first victory under the incumbent until December, defeating Kudrivka last weekend after a four-match losing run in all competitions.

Fresh off recording a first victory in exactly a month, Dynamo now bid for consecutive wins for the first time since October, aiming to make a late push for a playoff spot in the competition.

Currently 27th in the 36-team table, the visitors are two points adrift of Rijeka in 24th with two games to play, leaving advancement to the knockout phase playoffs out of their hands.

They can, however, make things interesting for themselves and put pressure on the teams above, hoping to climb in the standings at the end of the league phase.

Dynamo must record a first win over Fiorentina at the seventh attempt to achieve this, highlighting the uphill battle facing the Blue and Whites in Tuscany.

Fiorentina Conference League form:

Fiorentina form (all competitions):

Dynamo Kiev Conference League form:

Dynamo Kiev form (all competitions):

Team News

Whilst Vanoli has a relatively healthy squad, Fiorentina are missing Jacopo Fazzini (ankle), Tariq Lamptey (knee) and Robin Gosens due to injury on Thursday.

Cher Ndour has had a hand in three of Fiorentina’s goals, scoring twice and assisting once, accounting for 50 per cent of their six goals.

The midfielder hopes for another commendable showing. Nonetheless, the onus is on the team’s forwards — Moise Kean, who has yet to score, Roberto Piccoli, Edin Dzeko and Albert Gudmundsson to be decisive for the struggling Viola.

The Ukrainian outfit are without Andriy Yarmolenko (muscle) and Volodymyr Brazhko (rib), while Vitaliy Buyalskyi (bruise) will not play for the Blue and Whites.

No Dynamo player has scored more than once in this season’s competition, possibly explaining why they are so lowly placed after four games.

Fiorentina possible starting lineup:

De Gea; Pongracic, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Mandragora, Fagioli, Sohm, Parisi; Kean, Gudmundsson

Dynamo Kiev possible starting lineup:

Neshcheret; Karavaev, Zakharchenko, Thiare, Mykhavko; Pikhalyonok, Mykhaylenko, Rubchynskyi; Voloshyn, Ponomarenko, Kabaev

We say: Fiorentina 1-1 Dynamo Kiev

Fiorentina are in need of maximum points to regain their winning momentum; however, they are likely to prioritise league results over success on the continent at this time.

It remains uncertain whether Dynamo will take advantage of Fiorentina’s struggles, but their current poor form suggests that the points could be shared, which would extend the Ukrainian team’s winless streak in this matchup.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.